by Jayaram V
When religion becomes organized, man ceases to be free.
If we think that it is a question of life or death what concept of God
we accept, then our hearts are filled with fury. It is not God that is
worshipped but the group or the authority that claims to speak in his
name. - S.Radhakrishnan
Hinduism is not a religion but a set of beliefs and traditions which have evolved
over a period of time. It is a way of life
derived from diverse religious movements evolved in the Indian subcontinent
that share certain common beliefs, practices and principles which
constitute its core philosophy. It is not based upon a single scripture or the teachings of a single prophet.
Hinduism does not have a central organization like the Church of Christianity or the Order of
Buddhism to control its movements or
canon.
Hinduism is a word used by foreigners in the past to distinguish the religious
traditions of the Indian subcontinent from Islam and Christianity. For
the people of India it has always been santana dharma, the eternal
religion. Hinduism is not an
organized religion, nor does it fit into any definite system of thought. It
reflects the free enquiring spirit of man and provides varying degrees
of information to people according to their aspirations and
inclinations. There are many dimensions to Hinduism, some crude and even
vulgar and some representing the highest thought and vision man can ever
reach. Many people perhaps do not know that there are many independent
traditions within Hinduism such as Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism,
Smarthism and many ascetic traditions, which qualify to be called religions
by themselves. They do share some common features that are central to
Hinduism. Hinduism has been enriched by the diversity they provide and
saved over these centuries by the complexity and richness they have
imparted to it through their integration.
Some Distinguishing Features of Hinduism
Following are some of the distinguishing features of Hinduism, which
set its apart from other religions of the world.
- Hinduism has the largest pantheon of living
gods and goddesses who
are worshipped by their many devotees. The supreme deity of one Hindu
tradition may be a secondary god in another tradition. But
individual followers do not suffer from mutual animosity. Each devotee
is allowed to worship his or her personal god as a supreme deity,
acknowledging the fact that Hindus have the freedom to choose their
own personal god or goddess.
- Hinduism is the largest among the most ancient religions of the world
and also the oldest living religion. Hinduism and
Buddhism are perhaps the only two religions that spread to various
parts of the world through peaceful means. At one time they accounted
for nearly half of the world population. It is true that between
600 AD - 700 AD, Hinduism spread to the far eastern countries through
conquests and marine expeditions led by rulers from southern India. Other
than this Hinduism remained mostly confined to the subcontinent,
while Buddhism spread far and wide. In modern times Hinduism spread to
various parts of the world
through the peaceful migration of Hindus and teachings of various religious
gurus and sects.
- Hinduism is perhaps the only religion that shares many common
features with other world religions such as Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism. In modern times, Hinduism has also been the source of inspiration
for many new age religious movements based in the USA and elsewhere.
- In the entire world Hinduism is perhaps the only religion, other
than Judaism, that
survived contact with Islam and Christianity despite their
proselytizing and missionary zeal.
- In Hinduism there are many
contradictions. One person's religious
scripture may not necessarily be the same as another's. One sect may
believe in the reincarnation of God. while another may not. One
person may not recognize caste system, while some one may adhere to
it strictly. One may follow all the religious injunctions as
prescribed in the scriptures and perform all the necessary sacrifices,
rituals and ceremonies, while some may show complete disregard for
them. Yet no one would would consider the latter as a non-Hindu.
They may call him irreligious or deserter of dharma (dharmabhrasht), but not a non-Hindu. Every one who is
born in a Hindu family is considered a Hindu. One may be an atheist,
or a rationalist, may follow a sect that would not
consider the Vedas as revelations. Yet so long as one does not claim
oneself to be a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist or a non-Hindu,
one is considered a Hindu and remain so for the rest of one's life. This is not a recent phenomena. It has been
so for long. In ancient India even the kings used to patronize many religions
simultaneously. Members with in the same family in ancient times as
in present times often belonged to different religious traditions,
but lived in harmony. If the Romans excelled in political
democracy, ancient Hindus excelled in religious freedom, a practice
which continues even today. It makes Hindus very tolerant of other religions, more so today than in
the past when conservative Hindus maintained
strict caste rules and abhorred the notion of possible contact
with foreigners, unless they were purified and admitted into Hindu society
through rituals and ceremonies.
Definitions and Views on Hinduism by Various Scholars
Hinduism is based on eternal principles and not centered around the
teachings of any prophet or founder. It is a religion in which the fundamental
principles remained the same over the centuries, but the practices and
our interpretations of them kept changing, thereby making it very
adaptable to changing and challenging circumstances, without
compromising its core beliefs and losing its timeless appeal. Because of
its evolutionary nature, hidden symbolism and complex schools of thought
that often contradicted each other and contained ideas that were totally
alien to those not born into it, it presented many challenges to modern
scholars who wanted to interpret it from a western point of view and fit
it into a paradigm of classical religion with which they were familiar.
Being a confluence of diverse traditions, it eludes a definition even
today. In the following statements and definitions of Hinduism, we can
discern the difficulties experienced by various scholars to define and
interpret Hinduism in meaningful ways. Some of them also reflect the
ignorance and personal prejudices of the scholars who made them and of
the times in which they were made.
The Voice of God
"Something has been shown to you in this year of seclusion,
something about which you had your doubts and it is the truth of the
Hindu religion. It is this religion that I am raising up before the
world, it is this that I have perfected and developed through rsis,
saitns and avatars, and now it is going forth to do my work among the
nations. I am raising up this nation to send forth my word...When you go
forth, speak to your nation always this word, that is for the Sanatana
Dharma that they arise, it is for the world and not for themselves that
they arise. I am giving them freedom for the service of the world...It
is for the Dharma that India exists." (The voice of God as
spoken to Sri Aurobindo when he was detained in Alipur jail during the
freedom struggle.)
"I preached this imperishable yoga to Vivasvata (Sun) who
taught it to Manu and who in turn imparted it to king Ikshvaku. The
saintly kings who received it by family tradition knew it, but in the
course of time it was lost. The same yoga of antiquity I shall teach you
today. Since you are not only my devotee but also a dear friend of mine,
I shall reveal to you this great mystery." (Lord Krishna as
told to Arjuna in the Bhagavadgita, Chapter4:1-3)
B.G.Tilak
"Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact
that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and the realization of
the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large, that indeed
is the distinguishing feature of the Hindu religion" (This
definition of Hinduism was accepted by the Supreme Court of India on 7th
July 1995.)
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
"There are no heretics in Hinduism, for God is everywhere and in
all things. In such an open laboratory, Hindu spirituality has grown
over the millennia so diverse and rich that it defies definition. Even
knowledgeable Hindu, after a lifetime of study will hesitate to say that
Hinduism is one thing and not another. Hindusm, more than any other
religion, has encompassed the full spectrum of philosophic positions,
and to this day it venerates living exponents of each...Hinduism is our
planet's original and oldest living religion, with no single founder.
For as long as man has lived and roamed across Earth's land and water
masses, breatheed its air and worshipped in awe its fire, the Sanantana
Dharma has been a guide of righteous life for evolving souls. Shortly
into the twenty-first century, Hindu adherents will number over a
billion. All of them are Hindus, yes but they represent a broad range of
beliefs, sadhanas and mystic goals."
S. Radhakrishnan
"In a banquet speech in Cambodia the King, the father of
Prince Sihanouk said: 'We are your spiritual descendents. A man called
Kaundinya came from south India years ago, defeated the Cambodian
princess, married her, settled down, established his dynasty, and we are
the spiritual descendents of that dynasty. The name Khmer civilization
which you give to that comes from the world Khmeru of which Kaundinya
was a citizen here.' The civilization is called Khmer civilization.
"They had a temple of Krishna about 500 B.C. in Egypt. Asoka
sent his emissaries to different countries and some went West, some
East. You find, wherever you go, a kind of cultural atmosphere which
makes you feel at home. I have traveled in different parts of the world
- in Africa, in America, South and North, in Asia, but there has not
been a place in which I did not find myself absolutely at home."
(From Our Heritage.)
"There has been no such thing as a uniform, stationary,
unalterable Hinduism whether in point of belief or practice. Hinduism is
a movement, not a position; a process, not a result; a growing
tradition, not a fixed revelation. Its past history encourages us to
believe that it will be found equal to any emergency that the future may
throw up, whether in the field of thought or of history."
Swami Vivekananda
"There are these principles, which stand upon their own
foundations without depending on any reasoning, even much less upon the
authority of sages however great, of incarnations however brilliant they
may have been. We may remark that this the unique position in India. Our
claim is that the Vedanta only can be the universal religion, that is
already the existing universal religion in the world, because it teaches
principles, not persons."
"To the Hindus, then, the whole world of religions is only a
travelling, a coming up, of different men and women, through various
conditions and circumstances, to the same goal. Every religion is only
evolving a God out of the material man, and the same God is the inspirer
of all of them. Why then are there so many contradictions? They are only
apparent, says the Hindu. The contradictions come from the same truth
adapting itself to the varying circumstances of different natures."
Jawaharlal Nehru
"Hinduism, as a faith, is vague, amorphous, many-sided, all
things to all men. It is hardly possible to define it, or indeed to say
definitely whether it is a religion or not, in the usual sense of the
word. In its present form, and even in the past, it embraces many
beliefs and practices, from the highest to the lowest, often opposed to
or contradicting each other."
Mahatma Gandhi
"I call myself a Sanatan Hindu, because I believe in the
Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all that goes in the name of
Hindu scriptures and therefore in the avatars and rebirth; I believe in
the Varnashrama Dharma in a sense, in my opinion, strictly Vedic but not
in its present popular and crude sense; I believe in the protection of
cow in its much larger sense than the popular; I do not disbelieve in
idol worship."
"My Hinduism is not sectarian. It includes all that I know to
be the best in Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism...Truth
is my religion and nonviolence is the only way of its realization"
"If I were asked to define the Hindu creed I should simply
say, search after Truth through nonviolent means."
"Hinduism does not rest on the authority of one book or one
prophet, nor does it possess a common creed - like the Kalma of Islam -
acceptable to all. That renders a common definition of Hinduism a bit
difficult."
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
"Hinduism is a veritable chamber of horrors. The sanctity and
infallibility of the Vedas, Smritis and Shastras, the iron law of caste,
the heartless law of karma and the senseless law of status by birth are
to the Untouchables veritable instruments of torture which Hinduism has
forged against untouchables. These very instruments which have mutilated
blasted and blighted the lives of the Untouchables are to be found
intact and untarnished in the bosom of Gandhism."
Klaus K.Klostermaier
"The term "Hinduism" has recently been problematized
in western scholarly literature. "Hindutva." the
Indian-languages equivalent, identified with a cultural political
program promoted by right-wing Hindu political parties and extremist
Hindu organizatins, is viewed with suspicion and apprehension by many
non-Hindus. Some question the appropriateness of the very word
"Hinduism," which, they say, is an "orientalist
construct" invented by western colonial interest. All agree that
the term "Hindu" was imposed on the Indians by outsiders.
However, the designation "Hindu" has meanwhile been adopted by
Indians themselves, who identify their religion as "Hinduism"
over against Islam or Christianity. Others deny the historic validity to
the very notion of "Hinduism" prior nineteenth century
"Neo Hinduism," which arose as a reaction to Christianity, the
religion of the foreign colonizers." (From Hinduism, A Short
History.)
Vasudha Narayanan
In Indian law, the term "Hindu" may even include those
who belong to traditions usually thought of as theologically distinct
from Hinduism. It is generally applied to anyone who lives in India and
accepts the Hindu tradition - which is not defined - in any of its forms
or developments. This therefore embraces Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. The
term also applies to anyone else who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi
(Zoroastrian) or Jew.
"On the other hand, "Hinduism" has been a
problematic label even for some traditions that many people would
generally consider to be a Hindu. At different times several Indian
sects and movements have gone to court to argue against their official
"Hindu" status". (From the Eastern Religions,
Oxford University Press, General Editor Michael D. Coogan)
P.Thomas
"Hinduism is not a religion established by a single person. It
is growth of ideas, rituals and beliefs, so comprehensive as to include
anything between atheism and pantheism."
Percival Spear
"The more Hinduism is considered, the more difficult it becomes
to define it in a single phrase...A Hindu may have any religious belief
or none; he may be an atheist or an agnostic and still an acceptable
Hindu. It is public opinion working through the caste system which
determines whether someone shall or shall not be regarded as a
Hindu."
Manilai. N. D'vivedi
"Hinduism is a wide term, but at the same time a vague term. The
word Hindu is invented by the Mohammedan conquerors of Aryavarta, the
historical name of India, and it denotes all who reside beyond the
Indus. Hinduism, therefore, correctly speaking, is no religion at all.
It embraces within its wide intention all shades of thought, from the
atheistic Jainas and Bauddhas to the theistic Sampradayas and the rationalistic Advaitins. But we may agree to use the
term in the sense of that body of philosophical and religious principles
which are professed in part or whole by the inhabitants of India."
(From a speech made at the The World's Parliament of Religions.)
Harendranath Maitra
"The religion of the Hindu has no definition. His God has a
thousand names. He does not call Him simply “God.” He clothes his
God in all the rainbow beauty of his ‘infinite nature. The Persians
say that Jemal, the grace of God, is greater than Jelal, the glory of
God. So the infinite sweetness and beauty of the Love of God that knows
no barriers and no limitations, is what the Hindu loves to dwell upon.
His God comes to him ‘in a thousand ways." (From Hinduism:
The World Ideal).
Monier Williams
"Starting from the Veda, Hinduism has ended in embracing
something from all religions, and in pre-, senting phases suited to all
minds. It is all-tolerant, all-compliant, all-comprehensive,
all-absorbing. It has its spiritual and its material aspect, its
esoteric and exoteric, its subjective and objective, its rational and
irrational, its pure and its impure. It may be compared to a huge
polygon, or irregular multilateral figure. It has one side for the
practical, another for the severely moral, another for the devotional
and imaginative, another for the sensuous and sensual, and another for
the philosophical and speculative."
T.M.P. Mahadevan
"Hinduism, is therefore, is not a religion for the egoist or
the killjoy. Its first appeal to everyman is that he should discover his
station in society and perform the duties that belong to it. Then the
higher realms of spirituality would open of their own accord. Three
things, it is said, are essential for spiritual realization - birth as a
human being, aspirations for attaining release, and association with
sagely persons."
John Murray Mitchell
"A very strong argument against Hinduism is, that it is a
religion limited to Hindus. Hinduism is limited to India. It throws obstacles
in the way of proselytes. It cannot extend to foreign countries."
Hy Rev. Robert P. Wilder, M.A., Calcutta, India
"What is Hinduism? A Brahman attempted to give me a definition,
but before he completed his statement another Brahman contradicted him.
It is easier to state what Hinduism is not than what it is. It is the
residuum left after eliminating Sikhism, Jainism, Islam, and all the
other religions of India. Its main characteristics are the recognition
of caste and the authority of the Brahman priesthood. It includes a
quasi monotheism, pantheism, polytheism, polydemonism, and atheism. An
authority on India, Sir Alfred Lyall, has said, "The Hindu religion
is a religion of chaos. It is like a troubled sea, without chore or visible
horizon, driven to and fro by the winds of boundless credulity and
grotesque invention. " (From the Missionary Review of the World).
William Crooke
"The Hindu of our day may be a follower of the Vedanta, the
highest development of Hindu philosophy ; or he may be an Agnostic, the
product of Western thought acting on his traditional beliefs; he may be
a hill-man, as ignorant of theology as the stone he worships in time of
trouble, and ready to eat without scruple any food he can procure,
provided he belongs to a definite caste, and duly follows the laws of
social life which his caste prescribes. And this has been the case from
the earliest times. It is doubtful, for instance, if Buddhism ever
differed from the orthodox Hinduism of its day more than does at present
the creed of the Vaishnavas of Bengal, or of the Lingayats of Southern
India. The Jains, again, though their beliefs conflict with orthodox
Hinduism in the most vital points, do not discard the title of Hindu,
and still employ Brahman priests. The revolt of the Sikhs from Hinduism
was the result of political and social causes rather than differences of
doctrine. Sikhism and Jainism are commonly regarded as religions
distinct from Hinduism, because they became the State religions of
ruling princes. Others who hold equally divergent views, but have not
been pushed to the front by political influence, remain members of sects
still included within the Hindu fold."
Sir Alfred Lyall
"Hinduism may be described roughly as the religion of all the
people who accept the Brahmanic scriptures, the sacred books and
traditions, as orthodox and inspired; who adore the Brahmanic gods,
their principal incarnations and their symbolic manifestations; who
venerate the cow, observe certain rules of caste in regard to marriage
and the sharing of food, follow a ritual prescribed by the Brahmans, and
go to that priesthood for all the essential forms and ceremonies
connected with birth, matrimony, or death. This is the general
agreement; these are the binding rules which unite the vast population
which is called Hindu ; but we must nevertheless be cautious about
taking the word Hindu to mean, like the word Mahommedan, a formal creed
or a uniform faith. For the Hindus are divided and marked off into
manifold interior diversities of worship and popular superstitions,
belonging to different ages and different grades of their society ; they
have a great Pantheon of deities; they have an extensive mythology ;
their ritual varies incessantly with the places at which it is practiced
and the gods to which it is addressed."
"Hinduism is a tangled jungle of disorderly superstitions,
ghosts, and demons, demi-gods and deified saints, local gods, universal
gods, with their countless shrines and temples, and the din of their
discordant rites ; deities who abhor a fly's death, those who delight in
human sacrifices, and those who would not either sacrifice or make
offering— a religious chaos throughout a vast region never subdued or
levelled, like all Western Asia, by Mahomedan or Christian
monotheism."
"But when a man tells me that he is a Hindu, I know that he
means all three things together—Religion, Parentage, and Country. I
can be almost sure that he is an inhabitant of India, I know that he is
an Indian by birth and descent; and as to his religion, the word Hindu,
though it is rather indefinite, undoubtedly places him within one of the
many groups or castes that follow the ordinances and worship the gods
who are recognized by the Brahmans."
"Hinduism may be said to represent high religious ground that
has been for ages a dividing line between the great religious systems
that have overspread the countries on either side of it. Its
characteristic is the entire absence of system; it has never been under
the political control or regulation of a State; it has never been
organized ecclesiastically."
Conclusion
Hinduism is an ocean, free from the fetters of social and political institutions and from the narrow minded chauvinism of religious zealots. It is under no man, but only God. A continuously evolving religious tradition with inputs from many traditions and cultures from the length and breadth of India, in many ways, Hinduism is like an open directory
project or an open source software, with contributions from many selfless
individuals and owned by no particular individual, authority or religious
figure. Hinduism is a kind of world heritage which any one can follow or leave according to his or her free will.
No definition of Hinduism truly justifies its true meaning and significance.
The difficulties in defining it are true and genuine. It has many
layers, and layers with in layers. It reveals itself to the extent a person is evolved and interested. Ordinary individuals see the waves and the noise of rituals, or the
stench of casteism or empty ritualism, take it for granted that this is what Hinduism is all about and live with the belief, while those who are more intelligent and inquisitive, who have a spiritual bent of mind, who are not satisfied with the mere concept of heaven and hell, see the ocean beyond and using devotion as the boat go on a voyage to discover the mysteries that elude the ordinary
vision of man.
